The global search began earlier this summer, where we searched for members of the public to post images on Instagram of themselves doing an eco-friendly activity, such as recycling, reducing their carbon emissions, enjoying a vegan meal or cutting down plastic use, tagging @edenroccapcana and using the hashtag #EcoEdenRoc.

The entries were strong, so accordingly we’re chosen three winners:

Overall winner Instagram user @kirtanya_ impressed the panel of judges with her lifelong commitment to sustainability, reducing food waste, cutting her carbon footprint, using eco-friendly products and helping to plant thousands of trees in a South African Reforestation programme, which was the image used in her entry.

Kirtanya has won a five-night stay at Eden Roc Cap Cana, partaking in experiences such as going on a food sourcing trip with the chef, as well as meeting with the hotel team at the end of the stay to discuss their ideas on how the hotel could continue to help protect the environment. The rest of their trip can be spent enjoying the resort’s private, Blue Flag certified beach which is recognized for its environmental management, as well as swimming and lounging by their private pool or at the resort’s beach club. The lucky winner will also spend her time taste-testing Eden Roc Cap Cana’s new Slow Food Monday and Menus for Change dishes, which include a variety of sustainable, signature recipes featured throughout the hotel’s restaurants.

The first runner-up is @lizacohenn, whose entry detailed her approach to sustainability, from using plastic free or recyclable grooming and beauty products, using reusable products at every opportunity (including bringing reusable straws for friends and family) to composting at home.

Liza wins a complimentary 2-night stay at Eden Roc Cap Cana, with the chance to see first-hand the different eco-friendly initiatives put in place at our luxury hotel, with the chance to suggest further ideas during her trip.

The second runner-up has been named as @shellchain for her creative recommendations on material use across a range of entries, including turning wine corks into keyrings, cutting wine bottles to make glasses, creating lamps from tetrapak and turning used coffee capsules into jewelry.

Shell wins an invitation to join us in our Food For Change dinner, plus a guest, as well as a complimentary spa treatment. The hotel is committed to sustainability in all its kitchens, with ‘head to tail’ zero waste menus from locally sourced, sustainable fishing. Chefs select fish from local, small-scale fisheries to promote artisanal fishing and use local, seasonal products to reduce food miles and prioritize the importance of oceanic biodiversity. We can’t wait to hear what Shell thinks about our new Food For Change menus.

We were thrilled with the range of entries we received and are excited to continue our sustainability journey. Recent activities including the banning of plastic straws across all six of our restaurants and bars and throughout the resort, as well as providing glass instead of plastic bottles during turndown service. All transport within the resort and to the nearby award-winning Punta Espada Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course and three million square meter equestrian ranch and polo park Los Establos is done via the electric golf buggies assigned to each suite, and we already work closely with governmental sustainable companies to ensure we recycle all possible materials, so that cardboard, plastic, oil, and glass can be reused rather than dispersed into the environment, such as the oil used at the resort being transformed into soap and fuel.

We’ll keep you all updated with our next move to help preserve the environment off the back of stays from our three top entries. Stay tuned!